The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Rudbeckia plant, botanically known as Rudbeckia hirta, commonly referred to as Black-eyed Susan, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘RUDHT17’.
The new Rudbeckia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact Rudbeckia plants with numerous attractive inflorescences.
The new Rudbeckia plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands in July, 2015 of two unnamed proprietary seedling selections of Rudbeckia hirta, not patented. The new Rudbeckia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands in July, 2016.
Asexual reproduction of the new Rudbeckia by in vitro meristem culture in a controlled greenhouse environment in Zuidwolde, The Netherlands since March, 2017 has shown that the unique features of this new Rudbeckia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.